The free agency season comes with its share of dramatic twists and storylines. The community waits with bated breath to see where the season’s top prospects end up and how things unfold thereafter.
Most top players, like Mitch Marner, Nikolaj Ehlers, Brad Marchand, and Sam Bennett, have found their destinations. But three top players in the league continue to raise eyebrows, their fate shrouded in mystery.
The players in question are Rickard Rakell, Bryan Rust, and Erik Karlsson of the Pittsburgh Penguins. The three are coming off incredible seasons and are veterans with proven mettle on the ice. Penguins GM Kyle Dubas is aware of their caliber and will not let them go cheap.
Consequently, the teams eyeing the Penguins’ veterans are feeling the heat.
Insider Explains Why the Carolina Hurricanes Are Not in Contention for Erik Karlsson anymore
The Pittsburgh front office truly has the upper hand in trade negotiations regarding its top prospects at the moment. Rust, who has been repeatedly linked to the Toronto Maple Leafs, does not have the protection of a no-movement clause, making him the top target of several teams despite the winger’s explicit interest in continuing his career with the Penguins.
Frank Seravalli, however, stated that acquiring none of the Penguins’ standouts, such as Rust, Rakell, or Karlsson, is not going to be an easy task because Dubas is in no hurry to trade them away and would be looking to strike a fair trade in return for proven point producers.
“‘We are not going to give them away, even if they are older and don’t necessarily fit our age scheme, moving forward. We need to get real, significant value in return.’ So, Kyle Dubas has been asking for a ton for both Rust and Rakell, and he is still asking for a lot for Karlsson on the basis that he is going to retain,” Seravalli said.
Karlsson has an impressive resume and holds a hefty eight-year, $92 million contract with the Penguins, one that carries a cap hit of $11.5 million. The 35-year-old is a three-time James Norris Memorial Trophy winner and has accumulated 870 points over 1,084 regular-season games. Despite that, certain insider sources believe Karlsson is not worth trading for because of his age and jaw-dropping contract.
The Carolina Hurricanes landed Ehlers this free agency season in their most exciting move, and were reportedly also interested in acquiring Karlsson until they withdrew from that pursuit.
As Seravalli puts it, the cost of having Karlsson play in your team was the decisive deterrent for the Hurricanes. “I think Carolina is one of those teams that spent some time investigating on Karlsson this offseason, but ultimately decided against it because the acquisition cost is still pretty high.”
Moreover, despite his relatively underwhelming time with the Penguins, the management is not ready to undersell the defenseman. Karlsson accumulated 109 points in 164 regular-season games, but the Pittsburgh front office is relying on his former achievements to determine Karlsson’s asking price.
“It’s not as if the Penguins are we’ll retain $3 or $2.5 million on Karlsson, and you can just take him off our hands for free. That’s not their thought process. Their thought process here is this is a guy who is a former and recent Norris Trophy winner, 100-point season a few years ago. It hasn’t necessarily worked out in Pittsburgh, but we need assets.”
It remains to be seen what lies ahead for Rust, Rakell, and Karlsson. Will they continue their phenomenal run at Pittsburgh, or are they headed elsewhere?
